What is your address

If Augusta County, Staunton and Waynesboro expect tourism and business travelers to supplement agriculture and light industry for economic expansion, then street addresses of businesses must be highly visible.

Recently, in need of an overnight shipper I accessed the carrier's website, got the local packaging center's address. Told the business was located on Staunton's Greenville Ave., I went looking for it. Driving south on Greenville Ave. and noticing that

I'd passed the center, I turned around to backtrack.
On the return drive I noticed most of the businesses along Greenville Ave. had their street addresses printed in small numbers or not at all. While most of them had their company name highly visible, only a few had the street address prominently displayed. After locating the center, I shipped the package.

The next day I decided to walk to the shipping center just to be sure I hadn't missed posted street addresses. The short walk to the shipper verified that I'd not missed street address.
It occurred to me that if I, a local resident of 60-plus years and driver for 45-plus, couldn't readily find the business, how could an out-of-town businessperson or tourist do so-
The lack of noticeable street addresses led to other related challenges.

If one street shares two names, in many cases it's hard for a driver to notice where one name ends and another begins. For instance, say a driver leaves Staunton's Johnson Street Parking Lot heading to Greenville Ave.

Driving east for one block, the street becomes Greenville Ave. Continuing on, the driver then makes a right to go south under the overpass which is still Greenville Ave. Approximately two miles later Greenville Ave. becomes Lee-Jackson Highway.
Not to pick on Staunton, but using Greenville Ave. in another example, bear with me.

Let's say a tourist or businessperson enters Staunton by way of Interstate 81 at exit 220. The first ramp leading into the city ends at Greenville Avenue - or is it Lee-Jackson Highway- There's no large overhead sign indicating what street you're on.
Even more confusing: at the stoplight, at which block of Lee-Jackson Highway or Greenville Ave. is the driver located-
Switching to Staunton's northern end: a number of businesses on Augusta St.t heading north toward the Ingleside Resort and on into Verona don't have their addresses prominently displayed either.

Driving east from Staunton to Waynesboro, on Richmond Rd. (old Rt. 250) beginning at the Richmond Road/Jefferson Highway & Frontier Drive intersection is a lot simpler. Businesses and VDOT have an address and an overhead street sign, respectively, that are highly visible.

May I suggest that businesses add and display prominently their street addresses-

To municipal administrators I also suggest that block numbers be added to street names and to overhead intersection signs.
It would be very helpful to visitors and local residents alike.

Nelson Graves writes a weekly column for The News Virginian. He is Western Virginia director of the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council. E-mail him at .